Course Exemption

* Exemption of these courses need to fulfill the following conditions:

• Complete the prerequisite courses.
• CGPA 3.5 at the time of application for exemption 

NOTE: Please provide the certificate and write in to CCDS-Undergrad@ntu.edu.sg to apply for exemption. 

Exemption Consideration

1. Exemptions of SC10XX course series are strictly applicable only to students enrolled in the first year of study. Applications submitted beyond the first year will not be accepted.
2. Students who are granted course exemptions are deemed to have earned the credits awarded to the course. However, the exempted courses do not carry any grades and are therefore excluded from the computation of students' GPA.​​​​​​​
3. Students who are considering course exemptions must ensure that they are truly proficient in the courses to ensure no knowledge gap that may affect their learning in other higher-level courses.
4. Once courses are read or exempted, no exemptions or revocations will be allowed.

• GCE 'A' Level: Grade ‘A’ for a H2 subject relevant to the course to be exempted.
• IB: Grade ‘7’ for a HL subject relevant to the course to be exempted.
• NUSHS Diploma: Major Cap of 4.7 for a subject relevant to the course to be exempted.

Table 1: Courses Available for Exemption & Relevant A Level / IB / NUSHS Subject

Starting from the AY2026 cohort, all local polytechnic diploma holders—regardless of diploma—will be granted a standardised 6 AU Broadening & Deepening Electives (BDE) exemption across all College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS) degree programmes. The revision establishes a clear and standardised polytechnic exemption framework applicable to all CCDS undergraduate programmes, namely Computer Science (CSC), Computer Engineering (CE), Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI), and Artificial Intelligence and Society (AISC).

For AY2025 and earlier cohort, course exemption for local polytechnic students may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the diploma and courses that students have taken in their respective polytechnic, and if they satisfy the requirements/conditions set by CCDS. Please refer to the list of accepted diplomas indicated in the “Curriculum Structure” tab.

Year 1 CCDS students are invited to sit for the Freshmen Exemption Tests. These tests will provide an opportunity to be exempted from selected courses upon passing.

Participation in these tests is optional and entirely voluntary.

Courses Available for Exemption

Semester 1

1. SC1001 – Introduction to Computational Thinking & Programming
2. SC1004 – Linear Algebra for Computing (not applicable for DSAI and AISC students.)

Semester 2

3. SC1008 – C & C++ Programming (not applicable for DSAI and AISC students.)
4. SC2000 – Probability & Statistics for Computing (not applicable for DSAI students.)

1. Courses that you are successfully exempted from will count towards your graduation requirements but will not be included in the computation of your CGPA.
2. A non-refundable fee of $10 per test will apply, regardless of the outcome (pass or fail). Payment instructions will be provided closer to the registration period.
3. The tentative test date is 1-2 weeks before semester starts. Please note that you must be physically present at NTU take the test.
4. Once granted, exemptions are permanent and cannot be revoked or reversed at a later stage.
5. Students who qualify for exemption of these subjects based on outstanding ‘A’ level/ IB/ NUSHS results or International Olympiad Medallists DO NOT need to take the exemption tests. Please see exemption criteria in the other tabs.
6. The College will send an email to all freshmen a few weeks before to register for the test. Please check your NTU emails regularly.

Minimum AU of Graded Courses obtained from NTU

Courses that have been exempted will be reflected as 'EX' in your Degree Audit. Please note that exempted courses do not count towards the minimum AU requirement for Letter-Graded Courses.

Students are required to satisfy the following requirements for the award of a Bachelor's degree:

• Meet the minimum AU requirement for Letter-Graded Courses.
• Meet the minimum number of Letter-Graded AUs from Core Courses and Major Prescribed Electives (excluding ICC and BDE courses).

For further details, please refer to section 3.4 of the Academic Handbook for the minimum Letter-Graded AU requirements applicable to your intake. These requirements are also reflected in your Degree Audit.